1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an oil separating apparatus for an oil containing substance and a method therefor. More particularly, the invention relates to an oil separating apparatus for separating an oil component and a solid substance from an oil containing substance, and a method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical oil containing substances are oil sand or oil sludge, in a field of semiconductor fabrication technology, a silicon sludge generated during slice cutting of a silicon ingot, or, in a field of automotive vehicle manufacturing technology, an oil containing polishing sludge or the like. The oil sand has a huge amount of deposits in nature. Therefore, there is a demand for performing oil refining from the oil sand to separate and collect petroleum oil.
On the other hand, it is quite important in viewpoint of environmental protection to separate an oil component and a solid substance from the silicon sludge or oil containing polishing sludge. There is a strong demand therefor from industrial world. However, what is practically performed is to evaporate the oil component by combustion and to dispose the solid substance, which goes against the current of the times. Particularly, NOx and SOx contained in combustion exhaust is becoming social problem.
Therefore, attempt has been made to separate the oil component and solid substance from the oil containing substance. It is typical to perform drying process or distillation process in this case.
For drying or distillation of the oil containing substance, evaporation process is performed. In such evaporation process, inflammability becomes a problem. On the other hand, facilities and methods for separating crude oil from the oil sand which is estimated to have comparable amount of deposits as that of crude oil, on the earth, also faces the problem of inflammability. It is also required facilities and methods of low cost and high efficiency with lowered profitable line of business.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a oil component separating apparatus for an oil containing substance and a method therefor which can solve a problem of inflammability and can separate oil component and solid substance simply at low cost.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an oil component separating apparatus for a oil containing substance comprises:
a processing vessel having an injection space, into which a supersonic flow of an overheated vapor is injected toward an oil containing substance supplied externally;
separating means for separating a evaporated component and solid component obtained by injection in the injection space; and
condensing means for collecting the oil component by condensing the evaporated substance.
The processing vessel may have a nozzle which is supplied the high temperature and high pressure supersonic flow of the overheated vapor and injects the supersonic flow of the overheated vapor in to the injection space.
The separating means may be a cyclone or bag filter which separates and collects the solid component, the evaporated component may be dispersed by the cyclone or bag filter to be supplied by the condensing means, and the condensing means may perform cooling and distillation of the evaporated component by heat exchanging process.
The heat exchanging process of the condensing means is a cooling process by a cooling water, and a moisture component obtained by the cooling process is re-used as the cooling water.
The moisture component obtained by the cooling process may be re-used for generating overheated vapor of high temperature and high pressure.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an oil component separating method for a oil containing substance comprises:
a step of injecting an overheated vapor toward an oil containing substance supplied externally in an injection space;
a step of separating a evaporated component and solid component obtained by injection in the injection space; and
a step of collecting the oil component by condensing the evaporated substance.
In the separating step, the solid component may be separated and collected by a cyclone or bag filter, the evaporated component may be dispersed by the cyclone or bag filter to be supplied to the condensing step, and in the condensing step, the evaporated component may be subject to cooling and distillation of by heat exchanging process.
The heat exchanging process in the condensing step may be a cooling process by a cooling water, and a moisture component obtained by the cooling process is re-used as the cooling water.
The moisture component obtained by the cooling process may be re-used for generating overheated vapor of high temperature and high pressure.
In the operation of the oil component separating apparatus, the overheated steam of high temperature and high pressure is injected within the processing vessel as supersonic flow through the throat form nozzle, and on the other hand, the oil containing substance is supplied to the processing vessel by the feeder. Accordingly, in the processing vessel, the overheated steam of supersonic flow is forcedly collided to the oil containing substance to instantly crush and evaporate the latter. The solid substance is separated by means of cyclone through centrifugal separation or the like. The evaporated oil component is dispersed and subject to heat exchange (by condenser or the like in step by step to be cooled and distilled. The whole apparatus is filled with water vapor to keep in oxygen free condition to avoid fear of inflaming to assure safety. Also, scale on the piping is hardly hardened to facilitate maintenance.
The present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given hereinafter and from the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, which, however, should not be taken to be limitative to the invention, but are for explanation and understanding only.